Grizzlies Gameday: Groundhog Day in Tulsa

Grizzlies Gameday: Series Opener at BOK Center 

Utah Grizzlies (18-23, 36 points, .439 Win %) @ Tulsa Oilers (20-17-3, 43 points, .538 Win %) 

Date: February 2, 2024  Venue: BOK Center

Game Time: 6:05 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11054780-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-tulsa-oilers?nav_id=75 

Audio/Radio: Utah Grizzlies YouTube channel. - https://www.youtube.com/@THEUTAHGRIZZLIES

Friday’s Matchup

It’s the opener of a three- game series at BOK Center. Utah is 5-2 vs Tulsa this season. The Grizz are 10-6 over their last 16 games. Utah has won 4 of their last 5 contests. The Grizz have been a strong third period club as of late as they are outscoring opponents 10 to 2 over their last 5 games. Watch out for Brandon Cutler, who has a point in 8 of his last 11 games. Cutler leads Utah with 17 goals this season. Tyler Penner has a current 5 game point streak (3 goals, 2 assists). Mick Messner has 6 assists in his last 4 games. The Tulsa Oilers have been playing good hockey lately as they are 7-3 over their last 10 games. 

Games This Week

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 – Utah 3 Kansas City 8 – Nathan Burke, Tyler Penner and Josh Wesley each scored for Utah. Mick Messner had 2 assists. KC outshot Utah 37 to 26. Both teams went 1 for 2 on the power play. Mavericks were led by Jeremy McKenna, who had 3 goals and 1 assist. 

Friday, February 2, 2024 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm. BOK Center. 

Saturday, February 3, 2024 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm. BOK Center. 

Sunday, February 4, 2024 – Utah at Tulsa. 3:05 pm. BOK Center. 

All Times Mountain. 

Games Next Week

Friday, February 9, 2024 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. 

Saturday, February 10, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Grizzlies Sign Forward Jeremiah Addison

Addison started the 2023-2024 season by playing in Germany3 with EV Duisburg, where he scored 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 10 games. He was selected in the 7^th round (207^th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2015 NHL Draft. He has appeared in 10 AHL games, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist. He was the captain of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires in the 2016-17 season, where he scored 43 points (24 goals, 19 assists) in 51 games. He played for St. Francis Xavier University from 2018-2021 and Ryerson University in 2022. Last season he played with 2 different clubs in Slovakia.

January Recap

The Grizzlies went 4-3 in the month of January. It’s the first month this season where the Grizzlies had a winning record. They did go 2-2 in October. Utah scored 47 goals in 13 games in January (3.61 goals per game). They did allow 53 goals in January (4.07 per game). 

Grizzlies January Statistical Leaders 

Goals: Brandon Cutler (7). 

Assists: Cole Gallant (10). 

Points: Josh Wesley (11). 

Shots: Cutler (53). 

Plus/minus: Tyler Penner/Bryan Yoon (+7)

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (4). 

Save Percentage: Trent Miner (.919). 

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.36). 

Outstanding Crowds at Maverik Center

A season high crowd of 10,498 saw the Grizzlies win 4-2 on January 27, 2024. It was the largest crowd for a Grizzlies home game since January 19, 2019 when 10,529 saw Utah beat Tulsa 4-1. A crowd of 8,572 was at Maverik Center for the January 26, 2024 game vs Rapid City. Utah has had some outstanding crowds as of late at Maverik Center. Over their last 8 home games Utah has a combined crowd of 57,288, an average of 7,161 per game. For the season Utah is averaging 5,556 fans per game. 

Recent Transactions: Sandelin Recalled to Colorado

February 1 – Grizzlies sign forward Jeremiah Addison. He will wear number 54 for the Grizz. 

January 30 – Forward Alex Beaucage was recalled to Colorado. Beaucage had 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games with Utah. Beaucage took 20 shots in 4 games. 

January 29 – Forward Ryan Sandelin was recalled to Colorado (AHL). 

January 29 – Forward Jordan Stallard was suspended by team, removed from roster.

January 27 – Goaltender Trent Miner was recalled by Colorado (AHL). Miner saved 32 of 34 on January 24 vs Rapid City. He stopped 45 of 48 in a 6-3 win on January 26. 

January 22 – Grizzlies captain Josh Wesley was reassigned to Utah from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Wesley is 2^nd among league defenseman with 10 goals. 

Grizzlies Player Notes

Josh Wesley is 2nd among all league defenseman with 10 goals. Wesley is a +4 in his last 3 games. He had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick vs Rapid City on January 27. Wesley is 3rd among league defenseman with 121 shots on goal. Wesley has a current 3 game point streak (2g, 3a). Wesley had 47 shots in 11 games in January, scoring 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists). Wesley led all Grizzlies skaters in points in the month of January with 11 (5g, 6a). 

Kyle Mayhew is 2nd among league rookie defenseman with 25 points (7g, 18a). Mayhew has a point in 11 of his last 15 games. 

Brett Stapley has a point in 12 of his last 17 games. Stapley leads Utah in assists (25) and points (34). Stapley is tied with Cole Gallant for the club lead with 8 multiple point games. 

Cole Gallant leads Utah with 10 assists in 12 games in January. He leads all Utah rookies with 30 points (7g, 23a). Gallant missed his first game of the season on January 30. 

Brandon Cutler leads Utah in goals (17), PIM (59), Shots on Goal (151), Game Winning Goals (3) and power play goals (4). Cutler has a point in 4 of his last 5 games and a point in 8 of his last 11. Cutler led Utah with 7 goals in the month of January. 

Nathan Burke is 2nd on the Grizzlies with 13 goals. Burke is 4^th on the team with 100 shots on goal. 

Mick Messner has 6 assists in his last 4 games. 

Dylan Fitze has 10 points (5g, 5a) in 13 games in January. Fitze was a +6 in January. 

Tyler Penner has a point in 5 straight games. Penner has 6 assists in his last 10 games. Penner has appeared in 185 straight regular season games, 209 straight including the playoffs for Utah since the start of the 2021-22 season. He has Utah's game winning goal in 2 of the last 4 games. In 13 games in January, he had 10 points (4g, 6a). He led Utah with a +7 rating in the month. 

Adam Berg has 9 points (4g, 5a) in his last 11 games. 

Aaron Aragon scored 2 goals on January 19 at KC. Aragon scored 2 more goals on January 26 vs Rapid City. Aragon is a +4 in his last 6 games. 

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is outscoring opponents 10 to 2 in the third periods over their last 5 games. Utah is 10-6 over their last 15 games and 7-6 in January 2024. Utah has won 6 straight home games. Utah is 14 -6 at home this season, outscoring opponents 71 to 54. A crowd of 10,498 was at Maverik Center on January 27, 2024. It was the Grizzlies largest home crowd since January 19, 2019 where 10,529 fans saw Utah defeat Tulsa 4-1. Utah is 2-0 in games past regulation this season. The 2 games past regulation are the fewest of any team in the league. Utah is 12-3 when scoring first this season. Utah has scored 5 shorthanded goals this season. Utah is outshooting opponents 457 to 382 in the third periods this season. Utah is 10-2 when leading after 1 period and 11-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 8-0 at home when leading after 1 period. 

Utah vs Tulsa This Season

Utah is 5-2 vs Tulsa this season. The Grizz are 10-3 against Tulsa since the start of the 2022-23 season. The Grizzlies have been great on home ice vs Tulsa as they are 15-3 in the last 5 seasons at Maverik Center. Utah is 10-8-2-1 at Tulsa over the past 5 seasons. 

Brett Stapley leads Utah with 8 points vs Tulsa this season (2g, 6a). Cole Gallant (2g, 4a) and he has a +6 rating vs Tulsa. Kyle Mayhew has 1 goal and 5 assists in 7 games vs Tulsa. Brandon Cutler has 3 goals and 2 assists vs Tulsa. The Oilers are led by Karl Boudrias (1g, 4a) and Kyle Crnkovic (1g, 4a). Alex Butcher has 3 goals vs Utah this season. 

Tulsa 0 @ Utah 1 (Dec 31 2023) 

Tulsa 2 @ Utah 5 (Dec 30 2023) 

Tulsa 2 @ Utah 3 (Dec 29 2023) 

Utah 1 @ Tulsa 4 (Dec 3 2023) 

Utah 3 @ Tulsa 6 (Dec 2 2023) 

Tulsa 0 @ Utah 1 (Oct 22 2023) 

Tulsa 3 @ Utah 5 (Oct 21 2023) 

2023-2024 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings) 

Overall record: 18-23

Home record: 14-6

Road record: 4-17

Win percentage: .439

Streak: Lost 1

Standings Points: 36

Last 10: 6-4

Goals per game: 3.05 (Tied 20^th) Goals for: 125

Goals against per game: 3.56 (19^th) Goals Against: 146

Shots per game: 32.05 (10^th)

Shots against per game: 33.37 (21^st)

Power Play: 20 for 132 – 15.2 % (27^th)

Penalty Kill: 94 for 129 – 72.3 % (28^th)

Penalty Minutes: 466. 11.65 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 5. 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5.   

Record When Scoring First: 12-3. 

Opposition Scores First: 6-20. 

Record in One Goal Games: 6-7. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies    31         47                   45                   2                               125

Opposition           45         56                   45                   0                               146

Team Leaders 

Goals: Brandon Cutler (17) 

Assists: Brett Stapley (25)

Points: Stapley (34)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+11)

PIM: Cutler (59)

Power Play Points: Kyle Mayhew/Stapley (9)

Power Play Goals: Cutler/Josh Wesley (4) 

Power Play Assists: Mayhew (7) 

Shots on Goal: Cutler (151) 

Shooting Percentage: Aaron Aragon (15.6 %) - Minimum 40 shots.   

Game Winning Goals: Cutler (3) 

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (8)

Save %: Trent Miner (.917) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.75) 

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Metcalf (1)